Big Ten Weekly Men’s Basketball Central – January 6-12

Big Ten. Big News.
• Entering Tuesday’s action, every Big Ten team has played at least three conference games. Nebraska, Michigan, and Purdue are the only three with unbeaten records, while 15 of 18 teams have secured at least one league victory.
• With the completion of the traditional nonconference schedule, the Big Ten owns a nonconference record of 157-39, the second-best win percentage (.801) of any conference, behind only the Big 12 (.806). Big Ten teams have defended home court to the tune of an 118-4 (.967) record in non-conference home games, the highest non-conference home winning percentage of any D-I conference. Big Ten teams have just two nonconference games remaining on the schedule, both in February.
• Michigan and Nebraska are two of just six remaining undefeated teams in the country. At 13-0, Michigan is off to its best start since opening the 2018-19 season 17-0, while the Huskers’ win over Ohio State on Monday extended their program record 15-0 start and extended its Div. I-best win streak to 19 games.
• Entering Tuesday’s games, Big Ten teams have combined to win 24 Quad 1 games, more than any other conference. Michigan and Nebraska are two of just four teams nationally to go at least 4-0 against Quad 1 opposition. The Wolverines and Huskers join Michigan State and Purdue with four Quad 1 wins each, a feat accomplished by just nine teams thus far this season. The Big Ten is the only conference with four teams with four Quad 1 wins.
• Through games on Monday, Jan. 5, the Big Ten boasts 12 teams in the top 75 spots in the NET Rankings, including six in the top 15, and 10 in the top 50. Michigan leads the Big Ten contingent at No. 1, followed by No. 6 Purdue, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Michigan State, and No. 14 Iowa. Indiana, UCLA, Ohio State, and USC also claimed spots in the top 50. No other conference in the country has more teams in the top 10 (Big 12 – 3), top 25 (Big 12 – 6), or top 50 (SEC – 10). The ACC has one more team in the top 75.
• The Big Ten currently ranks second in today’s Kenpom conference rankings (+17.84), behind only the SEC (+19.01). Fourteen of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are ranked in the top 75 of the Kenpom rankings after Mondays’ games, including six in the top 25 and 11 in the top 50. Michigan leads the conference at No. 1, followed by No. 4 Purdue, No. 8 Illinois, No. 12 Michigan State, No. 17 Iowa, and No. 19 Nebraska. No other conference has more teams in the top 10, top 25, top 50, or top 75. The SEC’s 15 top 100 teams are one more than the Big Ten.
• Nine different Big Ten teams were ranked or received votes in this week’s AP and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls released on Monday, Jan. 5. Michigan led the way at No. 2 on the AP list, followed by No. 5 Purdue, No. 10 Nebraska, No. 12 Michigan State, No. 16 Illinois, and No. 19 Iowa. The Wolverines remain atop the Coaches poll for a fifth consecutive week. Purdue sits at No. 5, followed by No. 11 Nebraska, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 16 Illinois, and No. 19 Iowa. USC, UCLA, and Indiana also received votes in at least one poll.
• On Monday, the Big Ten announced its list of men’s basketball weekly award winners. Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. and Purdue’s Braden Smith shared Co-Player of the Week honors. Johnson averaged 26.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in two Wolverines’ wins including a career-best 29 points in just 26 minutes of a win over USC, while Smith tallied 13.0 points and 10.0 assists in a pair of victories for the Boilermakers, while becoming the Big Ten’s all-time career assist leader.
• Illinois’ Keaton Wagler and Washington’s Hannes Steinbach were also named Co-Freshmen of the Week. Wagler posted 16.3 points, 6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals over the last two weeks, leading the Illini to three-straight wins. Wagler scored a game-high 22 points, including a career-best five three pointers, with eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals in a 91-48 win over Missouri, the largest win in the history of the Braggin’ Rights series. Steinback recorded three consecutive 20-point double-doubles, averaging 20.3 points and 11.7 rebounds, as the Huskies went 2-1 on the week.
• Milestone Watch… Congratulations to Purdue’s Braden Smith, who broke the Big Ten career assist record in Saturday’s win over Wisconsin, overtaking Cassius Winston’s previous mark of 890 (MSU 2017-20)… Congratulations to Oregon’s Nate Bittle and USC’s Kam Woods, who recently recorded their 1,000th career points… Congratulations to Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo wo earned his 750th career victory on Monday night. Izzo is one of eight active Division I head coaches with at least 750 wins… Nebraska’s Rienk Mast has 997 career rebounds and is on the verge of becoming just the third active player in Div. I with 1,000 career rebounds…
• The 29th annual TIAA Big Ten Tournament will be played at the United Center in Chicago, March 10th – 15th, 2026. For the first time, all 18 Big Ten teams will compete for the tournament title. The tournament will open with a pair of games on Tuesday, March 10 and culminate with championship on Sunday March 15.